Have to say I'm quite pleased with the bridge at the mo... Most of the research was done from internet pictures and just a bit of imagination..

The Laser cutting does make things a lot easier.. its not an economical way of building but it does get a very precise result and it is exactly as your design. and it give you a good building block to start with.. I would recommend it to anyone.. but be prepared for a higher cost initially..

I've tried to go with a modern constructed bridge.. so it would be a welded concept.. and with much structural design these days its all about form as well as function.. so it has to look good as well as work I suppose.. Next will be to finish the detail work and then mask and primer ready for paint.. Still haven't decided on the colour yet but the Bridge a Peterbourgh is blue with a then red highlight over the arc.. so might copy that..???

the next building I'm going to make is a set of offices for the TMD Shed.. just a reception and admin building so to speak.. so I've seen a couple of buildings with curved roofs with grass on for the whole ECO / Environmental thing.. so I think I'll have a bash at that.. ( Though my LENZ 100 set is coming next week so really need to push on and get at least a round run from one loco on the layout this time home..!)...

So..with the weather being rubbish again today it has been perfect to get on with the bridge..

So.. I have now finished the main span. This will have further detail added but after painting etc.... So I have started on the two smaller girder bridges that will sit either side.. I started off with the intention of kit bashing the Will bridge but it didnt come together quite as I liked .. so.. looking at some more pictures and some work that 121modeller has done I have decided on a design of my own..

I have found some detail of the bridge supports and the whole thing wil sit on a set of Stone supports made out of the scrap ABS I had from the bridge span.. I have ordered some Wills sheet to cover these and then I'll jack it up and down on the layout to match the raised section have now.

Hoping to have this boxed off by the weekend.. just hoping the weather stays miserable so I dont have to work in the garden¬!!!!

I still have the top sides of the girder bridges to do.. so I might use the N guage Version of the kit and top it off with some handrails.. not sure yet... I ve rather enjoyed making the bridge but am starting to dread the painting... Though I have just invested in a new Airbrush and Compressor to make things a bit easier..

Just been looking at your Layout in N guage.. Awesome.. I get frustrated at times with working in 4mm and trying to get the scale right.. but to do it in N guage.. Hats off.. stunning work you have there... ( Where or how did you download / create the posters and signs you have used..??)

"Where or how did you download / create the posters and signs you have used..?? ... "

The posters and adverts are just Googlefinds, printed out at a shop with one of those photo-quality printers.

To optimise them I bring the original pictures into Photoshop (any similar photo-optimisation package will do) to reduce the brightness / enhance the sharpness of the original ... and then scale them to size in a page layout programme (I use Indesign, but similar software should do the trick).

Once in place they get a coat of aerosol matt varnish alongside the setting in which they sit, and then weathering powders are applied to the whole, which integrates them into the bigger picture.

well after a weekend of building I have the Bridge complete.. further bit of detail will be added once the supports have been made and the bridge fitted to the layout... For now it will be off the garage for a coat of grey primer.. ( After a bit of masking...) and then ready to apply colour etc.....

Also need to make a start on the stone Buttresses which this beast will sit on!!!

So in my last post I was completing the Crescent bridge on the layout. This has now been painted and I have fitted the base buttresses that it sits atop. And is now in place on the layout.. This has now allowed me to complete the twin track loop so I have a complete circuit now as per my original plan. This just leaves the TMD and Goods unloading area and a small siding left to lay which I can finish later on..

The curves on the inclines have now had to be relayed a couple of times in order to get the spacing correct for my single car DMU. The original 50 mm was fine until I bought that at the Warley show last year.. So in these areas I have widened the track to almost Setrack spacing and this gives plenty of passing space.. Its a bit obvious at the mo but once the scenery etc is added then it should blend in a little better..

So on with the controlling side of things.. IN the end I looked at the options and went for the LENZ 100 set.. I like the way its built and that it has plenty of scope for development and running the system from a Tablet or similar device.. I have now made the Mimic as well for the controlling of the point work this isnt wired completely yet and is just toggle switches and bi-colour LEDs to indicate route etc.. as I work through each Tortoise motor and pair They will be wired up.

I rather like the sheet of Carbon Fibre effect plastic its all mounted on.. ( you have to love eb** for that kind of stuff!)

This first one controls the station and approaches. there are two more smaller ones planned for the TMD and small branch line.

So With this in mind I made a start on the wiring underneath.. I intend to run two bus systems.. one is the DCC Bus which I have in place and the final system will be a 12V DC bus which will run the ancillaries and Tortoise point motors.

Each of the pieces of track is individually Wired and each area feed back into a Bus " Manifold".. I have terminated with Bootlace ferrules and screw terminals to aid with fault finding and replacing the track..

I have made up a wiring loom which Im going to use for each of the Tortoise motors. I found the edge connectors on-line and a bit of telecoms cable with heatshrink and they look ok. each one plugs into a Stripboard module that I have made up . The idea being that if there is a problem then any part of it can be simply un-plugged and swapped with the minimum amount of fuss.

Alas I have to return to Sea on monday so it will be six weeks before I can work on it again

Hello all!Its been a long time since thelast update.. so hers a list of excellent excuses as to why,..

So, Have had to have a new garden wall built.. and it was all brick,Landscaping to complete....... Ummm change in job role which required going back to college and studying... oh and I have changed the hot water system in the house.... which has had its benefits....

Where as before I only had half the attic as it was blocked by the two cold water tanks etc... I have now binned all of that and got a Un -Vented tank instead... so half of the layout was taken down to allow me to now go all the way around the loft... so this gives me a new play area of approx 3.5 mtrs wide, and around 10 meters in length

This required a re think as to what i wanted in the layout, So after a bot of thought I started taking up some of the track to re-lay, Mostly I wanted to increase the curves as one piece of Stock, doesn't like the 50mm Streamline spacing... I have a London Midland Class 153 DMU, which is 310mm long. ( If anybody has anything longer as a single bodied piece Id like to know.) which even with a curve of 28" and then 30" behind is very close due to the overhangs.. so I have increased the Radius So far as practical now where double lines exist so that the minimum is at least 30" on the inner curve , which has solved a few of the problems..

I also was then able to increase the height and incline so that I have gained 80mm above baseboard and about 2% ( or 1 :50 ).. which equates to about 80mmm vertical Increase over 4000mm of horizontal baseboard.

One of the other additions i have now been able to do is add in a branch line to the two main running lines. This line will have a short " Local " station on one side of the attic, but more over will lead into the fiddle yard to allow me to hold all of my stock, or at least rotate thing round now and again.,

The bridge that I made earlier on, which is featured back a little has been lifted and replaced in a drop board section, this will allow me to model a reasonable "Valley" and water course. Both the main and Branch lines will go over this although at different heights. With the Branchline being on a curved section made up of smaller bridges rather than the single span that the main line bridge is.

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I have used a couple of "Ten Commandments " Concrete Tunnel Portals on the bridge side, and then once the scenery and structure has been made I will then Scratchbuild the tunnel portals on the otherside.

The Main Station has had some track reworking, additional pointwork added to give flexibility and the run in curves smoothed out to be a bit more realistic, and allow longer trains.. I have decided on a final platform lengtht of circa 1800mm, this will allow 5 coach formation and also Loco as well..

In order to get the platforms right, i've been working on a few options.. They will be scratch-built, but just have to get the heights right.. at the mo, it looking around 18mm high from the baseboard... this allows the 12mm above rail to the platform edge, and the 6mm which is made up of 3mm of HD Foam Underlay, and then 3mm which is roughly the thickness of PECO Code 100 Rail and Sleeper.

Platforms will be 110mm wide, and So I made a quick Gauge from ABS Sheet and scrap Styrene so I could maintain spacing. The Track is the laid against a 1.8 Mtr Spirit level so its dead straight all the way down.

Now Ive got a bit more time I will try and get more done this week and update with the progress pictures...

Have finished the rough woodwork for the tunnels and elevation area, this will then be finished with whichever method of scenery construction works best for me.... havent made my mind up yet, but might try some of the woodland scenics rock molds etc and see how that goes.......

Also allowed me to get the lower "Branch Line track in place, Im toying with the idea of having this area more scenic with lineside houses etc, but not made up my mind, so will leave blank for now...

The other section below shows a small water course or marsh area Im going to create, I didnt want the entire baseboard to be flat so this small dropped section will work well, I'm going to recycle a couple of old girder truss piece I obtained from a friend. Dont want it too big, but just enough to give some interest as the the branch line leaves the station, Also, Bashed a couple of the Will/Ration kits together to make a double culvert, Will back fill with scenery there as well,

Also cleared off the Main River section Marking out the Base pattern for the new Stone Piers I will build. The Branch Line will also have two section bridge, but I have several ideas for this, Plan will be to draw out more designs, and then maybe get the pieces Laser cut again, but will see...

To the left I'm going to create a towpath with canal boats, and then to the right a small dirt track and cycle path maybe, again lots of ideas from other layouts, but I haven't settled on one particular idea just yet...